Why Évangéline shouldn't be an Acadian Icon (Anymore) | Experiencing History? | Episode 6

Why is Évangéline an Acadian icon? Why does she dominate the Grand-Pré world heritage site?

To answer these questions, walk with Erin through the UNESCO world heritage site at Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia, as she speaks with Stephanie Pettigrew, an expert in Acadian history. This site is focused on Le Grand Dérangement of 1755-63 during which time between 10 and 15 thousand Acadians were forcefully removed from their homelands. Much of the site pays service to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's heroine, Évangéline. Erin and Stephanie discuss why Évangéline shouldn't be an Acadian icon and why she became so infamous in the first place.

🎬 Footage for this video was taken in August 2020 according to Covid-19 regulations.

🎵 Theme music by Broke For Free. Learn more: brokeforfree.bandcamp.com

🔆 About:
Historia Nostra is written, produced, and created by Erin Isaac (PhD student in History, Western University). In our Experiencing History series, Erin visits museums and heritage sites across North America to review how history is taught on site.

🖥 Learn more: historianostra.ca

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📚 Further Reading:

Grand Pre Website: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/gr...

Naomi Griffiths, “Longfellow’s Evangeline: The Birth and Acceptance of a Legend,” https://www.acadian.org/history/longf...

Michael Gagné, “‘Memorial Constructions":’ Representations of Identity in the Design of the Grand-Pré National Historic Site, 1907-Present,” Acadiensis 42 no. 1 (Winter/Spring 2013), 67-98.

Brown, Wayde. "Percy Nobbs and the Memorial Garden at Grand Pre." The Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada (2007).

The Acadians and the Creation of the Dykeland 1680–1755,” The Landscape of Grand Pré, http://www.landscapeofgrandpre.ca/the...

Thériault, Joseph Yvon. Évangéline: contes d’Amérique. Montréal: Québec Amérique, 2013. 399 p. https://books.google.ca/books?id=HwMl...


More from Stephanie Pettigrew

Stephanie Pettigrew, “Ordinary Women – Jeanne Dugas of Acadie,” Borealia (March 11, 2019), https://earlycanadianhistory.ca/2019/...

Stephanie Pettigrew, “An Interview with Historica: Making a Heritage Minute,” Unwritten Histories (August 13, 2019), https://www.unwrittenhistories.com/an...

While you’re at Unwritten Histories, check out their other resources on Acadian history: https://www.unwrittenhistories.com/ta...